1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to toilet seats, and more particularly, to a portable toilet seat which fits over a public toilet.
2. Description of Related Art
Public toilets provide an essential function for people outside their homes. However finding a clean public toilet is difficult. Even when a restroom appears to be clean, people are apprehensive about using a public facility. Even with this apprehension, people must still use public toilets. When a person sits upon a public toilet, the person may be exposed to a wide variety of diseases and bacteria. In many cases, the toilet seat is so dirty, that for all practical purposes, the toilet is unusable. The problems of using a public toilet seat are particularly acute for children. Parents are apprehensive in allowing young children to use public toilets because children may be more susceptible to germs that are encountered on the public toilet. In addition, many small children cannot properly sit upon a public toilet seat because the toilet seat may be too large to accommodate the small body of the child. A device is needed which protects a user from directly contacting a public toilet seat while being adjustable to accommodate users of various sizes. The device should be easy to carry for use by people when traveling.
Although there are no known prior art teachings of a solution to the aforementioned deficiency and shortcoming such as that disclosed herein, prior art references that discuss subject matter that bears some relation to matters discussed herein are U.S. Pat. No. Des. 345,414 to Douglas (Douglas), U.S. Pat. No. 1,958,276 to McCandless (McCandless), U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,356 to Benjamin (Benjamin), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,063 to Edwards et al. (Edwards).
Douglas discloses a portable toilet seat for use by a child. The toilet seat includes a seat, a plurality of clamps for attachment on a conventional toilet seat, a seat back, and a plurality of pins for adjusting the width of the clamps. However, Douglas does not teach or suggest a means for adjusting the size of the portable toilet seat to accommodate different sizes of people. Additionally, Douglas does not disclose a toilet seat which is easy to transport.
McCandless discloses a toilet seat which may be readily mounted to a conventional toilet seat. The toilet seat includes a collapsible back and arms. The toilet seat also includes a clamping device for securing the toilet seat to a conventional toilet seat. Although McCandless discloses a foldable child's toilet seat, McCandless does not teach or suggest providing a means for easily transporting the toilet seat. McCandless merely discloses collapsing a back and arms attached to the toilet seat into a smaller area. Additionally, McCandless does not teach or suggest a means for adjusting the size of the portable toilet seat to accommodate different sizes of people.
Benjamin discloses a foldable child's toilet seat assembly. The assembly includes a child's toilet seat having clamps for affixing the child's toilet seat to a conventional toilet seat. In addition, the child's toilet seat includes a retractable cover. The toilet seat assembly may be collapsed into a smaller area for storage, however, Benjamin does not teach or suggest folding the actual toilet seat into a smaller area for easy transportation. Benjamin merely discloses folding peripheral devices attached to the toilet seat into a smaller and more convenient area. In addition, Benjamin does not discloses a means for adjusting the size of the portable toilet to accommodate various sizes of people.
Edwards discloses a portable toilet seat for use in public rest rooms. The toilet seat is foldable for compact storage in a carrier. The toilet seat is equipped with a roll of toilet paper and a pocket for personal hygiene items. The carrier may remain open and hung from the door of a rest room stall for easy accessibility by the user after the seat is removed and unfolded for use. Edwards does not teach or suggest adjusting the size of the portable toilet seat for accommodating various sizes of users. In addition, Edwards does not secure the portable toilet seat to a conventional toilet seat, rather the portable toilet seat is positioned on top of the conventional toilet without any clamps.
Review of each of the foregoing references reveals no disclosure or suggestion of an apparatus as that described and claimed herein. Thus, it would be a distinct advantage to have an apparatus which protects a user from the germs associated with a public toilet, and is adjustable and portable. It is an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus.